Showing posts tagged pork
Hardly a few days since the last post, and already another one…  Another curry with coconut milk If you like nutty curries as much as I do, you have to try this one: peanut butter AND coconut milk. To round it up with more nuts, choose plain yoghurt with maple syrup, cinnamon and walnuts for the dessert. For the curry (about 6 servings), you`ll need: spring onions pork, chopped bite-size, 500 g red curry paste, 3 spoons peanut butter, 2 spoons brown sugar, 1 spoon vegetable stock, 1 cup low-fat coconut milk, 1 can of 400 g deep-frozen cauliflower florets, a package of 250 g palm hearts, a can of 400 g juice of half-lemon Fry the pork for 5 minutes to seal the juices. Add chopped spring onions and fry another minute. Add curry paste and peanut butter, then the sugar. Cover with stock and coconut oil, add the cauliflower, bring to boiling and simmer for some 10 minutes. Cut palm hearts, add to the sauce and heat through. Stir in lemon juice and serve with rice. For one of the next posts, I`ll try out David Lebovitz recipes from his “Sweet Life in Paris”. A brilliant book, recommended by my sister who`s much more into desserts than me. Even if you choose to skip the dessert recipes, the book charms with its witty and accurate description of the Parisian lifestyle and some appealing ideas for non-sweet dishes. Breastfeeding a baby means a lot of time for reading:) Baiba View high resolution

Hardly a few days since the last post, and already another one… 

Another curry with coconut milk
If you like nutty curries as much as I do, you have to try this one: peanut butter AND coconut milk. To round it up with more nuts, choose plain yoghurt with maple syrup, cinnamon and walnuts for the dessert.
For the curry (about 6 servings), you`ll need:
spring onions
pork, chopped bite-size, 500 g
red curry paste, 3 spoons
peanut butter, 2 spoons
brown sugar, 1 spoon
vegetable stock, 1 cup
low-fat coconut milk, 1 can of 400 g
deep-frozen cauliflower florets, a package of 250 g
palm hearts, a can of 400 g
juice of half-lemon
Fry the pork for 5 minutes to seal the juices. Add chopped spring onions and fry another minute. Add curry paste and peanut butter, then the sugar. Cover with stock and coconut oil, add the cauliflower, bring to boiling and simmer for some 10 minutes. Cut palm hearts, add to the sauce and heat through. Stir in lemon juice and serve with rice.
For one of the next posts, I`ll try out David Lebovitz recipes from his “Sweet Life in Paris”. A brilliant book, recommended by my sister who`s much more into desserts than me. Even if you choose to skip the dessert recipes, the book charms with its witty and accurate description of the Parisian lifestyle and some appealing ideas for non-sweet dishes. Breastfeeding a baby means a lot of time for reading:)

Baiba

Holidays Two weeks off, a festive season with guests and the last month of pregnancy: a valid excuse to indulge. I even baked a honey cake. Tonight: a pork tenderloin in puff pastry and winter veggie curry with lentils, served with lettuce. For the pork, you`ll need a piece of tenderloin, an onion, a package of puff pastry dough (not a healthy option, just for the occasion), salt, pepper, sugar, and thyme. Chop an onion and fry in some oil with sugar, salt, pepper and thyme. Spread over the dough. Fry the pork from all sides to seal the juices and wrap in the dough. Cover with foil and bake in the oven until cooked through. Winter veggie and lentil curry: will work with any vegetables you have. I used carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, potatoes and celery root. Cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces. Chop an onion and a couple of garlic gloves. Fry each veggie (except potatoes) in a teaspoon of butter, then put in a pot and cover with stock. When boiling, add a couple of spoons of curry paste. Since I had red lentils that only need 10 minutes of cooking, I added them shortly before the vegetables became soft. Happy New Year. Baiba View high resolution
Holidays
Two weeks off, a festive season with guests and the last month of pregnancy: a valid excuse to indulge. I even baked a honey cake.
Tonight: a pork tenderloin in puff pastry and winter veggie curry with lentils, served with lettuce.
For the pork, you`ll need a piece of tenderloin, an onion, a package of puff pastry dough (not a healthy option, just for the occasion), salt, pepper, sugar, and thyme. Chop an onion and fry in some oil with sugar, salt, pepper and thyme. Spread over the dough. Fry the pork from all sides to seal the juices and wrap in the dough. Cover with foil and bake in the oven until cooked through.
Winter veggie and lentil curry: will work with any vegetables you have. I used carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, potatoes and celery root. Cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces. Chop an onion and a couple of garlic gloves. Fry each veggie (except potatoes) in a teaspoon of butter, then put in a pot and cover with stock. When boiling, add a couple of spoons of curry paste. Since I had red lentils that only need 10 minutes of cooking, I added them shortly before the vegetables became soft.
Happy New Year.

Baiba


Halloween approachingThe vegetable of October is pumpkin. Tonight: in both stew and the sauce. We had a Sunday roast with a vegetable stew and a pumpkin/mango/chili sauce.For the stew, you don`t really need a recipe. Take the vegetable roots you have and stew in the spices you like. It just cannot go wrong. I used a slice of a pumpkin, some savoy cabbage leftovers, carrots and potatoes. Fry a chopped onion, chili, cumin and mustard seeds. Add bite-size carrots and pumpkins, fry for some more minutes. Pour over water to cover, let simmer. In 5-10 minutes, add potatoes and savoy cabbage. Salt and cook until soft. Sauce: cut a slice of pumpkin into bite-size piecies. Roast in the oven until slightly brown. Place in a pot together with 1 mango, chopped, and a chopped fresh chili. Pour some water, add tumeric, and cook until soft. Blend. Baiba View high resolution

Halloween approaching

The vegetable of October is pumpkin. Tonight: in both stew and the sauce. We had a Sunday roast with a vegetable stew and a pumpkin/mango/chili sauce.
For the stew, you don`t really need a recipe. Take the vegetable roots you have and stew in the spices you like. It just cannot go wrong.
I used a slice of a pumpkin, some savoy cabbage leftovers, carrots and potatoes. Fry a chopped onion, chili, cumin and mustard seeds. Add bite-size carrots and pumpkins, fry for some more minutes. Pour over water to cover, let simmer. In 5-10 minutes, add potatoes and savoy cabbage. Salt and cook until soft.
Sauce: cut a slice of pumpkin into bite-size piecies. Roast in the oven until slightly brown. Place in a pot together with 1 mango, chopped, and a chopped fresh chili. Pour some water, add tumeric, and cook until soft. Blend.

Baiba

StewThe summer is over, and I`m back with another hearty dish: vegetable-minced meat stew.It has been some time since my last post. In July, I had the sickness of early pregnancy (the family lived on a diet of pasta and frozen pizza), and when that was over, we left for a long a vacation in Latvia. I did cook a lot there, enjoying the august richness of wild mushrooms, zucchinis, potatoes, and tomatoes. The hit was cepes milk soup. No pictures, though, since Sandis did not have the right equipment with him.For the stew:300 g minced pork1 onion, choppeda slice of squash, cut into bite-size cubes1 red beet root, boiled, cut into bite-size cubessome chopped savoy cabbagevegetable stockgreens from the garden (I used oregano and sage)salt, pepper, paprika, chilliFry the meat with onions and paprika. When brown and cooked, remove from the pan and put aside, covered. Fry the savoy cabbage and squash with chilli, sage, and oregano, until light brown, then pour over some vegetable stock and let simmer for some 10 minutes until soft. Add the red beet and meat, stir together, and let the flavors soak together for a few minutes.Serve with rice, yoghurt sauce, and pickled cucumbers.Yoghurt sauce: yoghurt, lemon juice, and pressed garlic. Red beets and cabbage add nice colors to the plate.Hoping to get back with another dish sooner than usual,Baiba View high resolution

Stew

The summer is over, and I`m back with another hearty dish: vegetable-minced meat stew.
It has been some time since my last post. In July, I had the sickness of early pregnancy (the family lived on a diet of pasta and frozen pizza), and when that was over, we left for a long a vacation in Latvia. I did cook a lot there, enjoying the august richness of wild mushrooms, zucchinis, potatoes, and tomatoes. The hit was cepes milk soup. No pictures, though, since Sandis did not have the right equipment with him.
For the stew:
300 g minced pork
1 onion, chopped
a slice of squash, cut into bite-size cubes
1 red beet root, boiled, cut into bite-size cubes
some chopped savoy cabbage
vegetable stock
greens from the garden (I used oregano and sage)
salt, pepper, paprika, chilli
Fry the meat with onions and paprika. When brown and cooked, remove from the pan and put aside, covered. Fry the savoy cabbage and squash with chilli, sage, and oregano, until light brown, then pour over some vegetable stock and let simmer for some 10 minutes until soft. Add the red beet and meat, stir together, and let the flavors soak together for a few minutes.
Serve with rice, yoghurt sauce, and pickled cucumbers.
Yoghurt sauce: yoghurt, lemon juice, and pressed garlic. 
Red beets and cabbage add nice colors to the plate.
Hoping to get back with another dish sooner than usual,
Baiba

Pork steaks Since organic meat is rather expensive, and there are so many other things to eat, I`ve been neglecting red meat for some time. Time to catch up. These pork steaks are soared on a skillet, then placed in a shallow oven dish, in one layer. Pour over some white wine and vegetable stock and bake until cooked through. Serve with tomato/mango salad (dressing: aceto balsamico de modena) and mustard.  Baiba View high resolution

Pork steaks

Since organic meat is rather expensive, and there are so many other things to eat, I`ve been neglecting red meat for some time. Time to catch up.

These pork steaks are soared on a skillet, then placed in a shallow oven dish, in one layer. Pour over some white wine and vegetable stock and bake until cooked through. Serve with tomato/mango salad (dressing: aceto balsamico de modena) and mustard. 

Baiba

Late Dinner

Last night, we had a long late dinner with friends. “Late” means the kids were already in their beds:)
1. Savory muffins. 
In one bowl, mix 1 cup of wholegrain flour, 1 cup of all purpose flour, and baking powder. Mix in grated carrots, feta, and chopped sundried tomatoes (or whatever you have in the fridge:)). In another boil, whisk 2 eggs with a tablespoon of brown sugar and a pinch of salt, add a cup of yogurt and some tablespoons of sunflower oil. Combine the bowls and bake muffins until cooked through.
2. Salad with poached eggs. It was the first time I tried to make poached eggs. The recipe says: carefully slide the egg into boiling water with some salt, vinegar and a laurel leave. “Carefully” did not help, the egg dissolved forming long white spaghetti in the water. Kevin (The Guest:))) had this great idea that we should wrap a raw egg in a clingfilm bag. And it worked! 
3. Pork roast.
Roast: marinate pork overnight in pineapple juice, soya sauce, minced garlic, thym, and maple syrup.
I think I should have made a sauce out of the marinade, but I wasn`t sure how to do it properly.
Sauce: simmer a handful of cranberries, a couple of tablespoons of honey, grated ginger, and a cup of red wine for about 30 mins until thick enough.
Served with potatoes and parsnips, sprinkled with olive oil, salt, pepper, mixed with chopped wild garlic leaves and baked in the oven, covered.
We also had fresh grated carrots dressed with pistachio oil and boiled grated beets dressed with balsamico and mustard.
4. Tiramisu. Made by Kevin. It was so good that I had to postpone my prepare-for-bikini-season diet for a week. Which is the Easter weekend at my mom`s. No, most probably until the week after:)

Baiba

Party

Kids` party was just a pretext for having a nice long weekend dinner with their parents.
We had:
1. A lentil soup. After my previous post of the carrot soup, one of the readers suggested adding lentils. It works, I love the consistency and fullness they add. In the pot, fry a chopped onion and a few chopped garlic cloves with turmeric, cumin, and ginger. Add sliced carrots. Cover with stock and let simmer for about 5 mins, then add a can of tomatoes and red lentils. When lentils are soft, blend the soup. The result is tender and sweet. Most kids liked it.
2. Quinoa salad. A cucumber, belle pepper, avocado, mozarella, mango, and cooked quinoa, dressed with a mixture of lime juice and walnut oil. Avocado has to be ripe and soft, otherwise you`ll spoil the salad.
3. Pork. Mix roughly sliced carrots (again a carrot dish. I know it`s not good manners to base two dishes on the same ingredient, but I really had to get rid of the carrot stocks in my fridge), a chopped aubergine (kept in salt for a while to take away the bitterness) and a can of chickpeas with some olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Spread in a shallow oven dish. Top with slices of pork, season again. Cover with foil and bake in the oven until the pork is cooked through. Serve with rice.
For the dessert, we had a cheesecake from the local bakery.
For some years, I tried to avoid pork, as all the nutritionists (and cardiologists) were warning against the high fat content. Well, animal fat has been rehabilitated in the meantime. I wonder which food is next to be proclaimed evil (or magic and curing from all diseases, like omega3 today or margarine several decades ago:)). My guess is canola oil or fruit. Currently, the root of all evil is transfats. And that goes well with my understanding of good food.

Baiba